|
In-Depth Issues:
The Truth Behind the Viral Gazan Famine Photo ( David Collier)
On July 23, 2025, Britain's Daily Express ran the image of Muhammad on its front page as a child victim of the Gazan "famine."
Within hours, Sky News, CNN, The Guardian, Daily Mail, New York Times, and The Times (UK) ran the image.
Yet the uncropped photo also shows both Muhammad's mother and his older brother looking healthy and not suffering from starvation.
Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq was born with serious genetic disorders. He has needed specialist medical supplements since birth.
Like previous examples of the media using "starving children," the image is of a child suffering underlying and hidden health issues.
A medical report issued in May 2025 by the Basma Association for Relief in Gaza states that Muhammad has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy and hypoxemia (low oxygen in the blood), possibly linked to a suspected genetic disorder.
This revelation raises serious issues of media integrity. The Daily Express picked up a viral image circulating online and published it without verification or context - a textbook example of clickbait journalism, where emotional impact is prioritized over everything else.
The BBC went a step further and produced an interview with the child's mother,
that somehow failed to disclose that Muhammad was a child born with genetic problems.
This is not journalism. This is the UK's state media deliberately pushing a deceptive narrative that only serves to benefit Hamas.
See also Another Fake Photo of a Starving Gaza Child - Hen Mazzig ( X)
A photo of a starving child in Gaza appeared on the cover of a newspaper in Italy. Except that it wasn't.
Osama Al-Rakab left Gaza for Italy for treatment for his cystic fibrosis. His treatment was coordinated directly with the Italian Foreign Ministry. His condition is not due to starvation.
Hamas's Dream: Turning Palestinians into a "Nation of Martyrs" - Khaled Abu Toameh ( Gatestone Institute)
On Oct. 24, 2023, senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad said: "We are called a nation of martyrs, and we are proud to sacrifice martyrs."
Hamad and the Hamas leadership are in no rush to release the hostages or reach a ceasefire agreement with Israel because they would like to see more Palestinians sacrificed as "martyrs."
The more bodies pile up, the more they can blame Israel. Hamas leaders seem convinced that the international community is on their side.
Hamad and the Hamas leaders sheltering in Qatar and Turkey should be apologizing to the Palestinians of Gaza instead of praising them for their "patience, resolve and steadfastness."
In fact, they should be arrested and put on trial for their crimes against both Israelis and Palestinians.
Hamas leaders seem determined to turn all the Palestinians in Gaza into a "nation of martyrs" in its jihad (holy war) to destroy Israel.
Hamas leaders are selling illusions to their people that they are winning the war and that Israel will soon be defeated.
The writer, a veteran Israeli journalist, is a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute and the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.
U.S. National Education Association Erases Jews from the Holocaust - Alana Goodman ( Washington Free Beacon)
The U.S. National Education Association, the nation's largest teachers' union, plans to promote a version of Holocaust remembrance that does not mention Jews, according to its 2025 handbook, which references "victims of the Holocaust from different faiths" without mentioning the attempted extermination of the Jewish people.
The NEA Representative Assembly passed a resolution to boycott the Anti-Defamation League's Holocaust education materials earlier this month.
The 2025 handbook gives a lengthy description of its plans to "educate members and the general public about the history of the Palestinian Nakba," while teaching that Israel was founded through "forced, violent displacement and dispossession."
"Teaching about the Nakba fosters critical thinking and empathy among students, promoting a deeper understanding of historical injustices and their contemporary ramifications."
Convincing the World that Israel Is Doing the Right Thing - Micah Halpern ( Jerusalem Post)
Israel is doing the right thing. It is defending itself. And along the way, it is making the world a safer place and a better place - now and for generations to come.
Morally, ethically, Jewishly, and according to international rules of war, Israel is operating on the right side.
There are still some sane people in the world who are not obsessed with the Jewish state, who do not hate Israel, who do not embrace the enemies of Israel and celebrate their unfathomably unjust and immoral cause.
It can be excruciatingly difficult to watch and witness the spread of rash, harsh bile and unsubstantiated hatred directed at Jews and Israel.
Haters and their messages have been amplified in new media, explicitly directed toward young people. Israel is constantly portrayed as wrong, as the evil aggressor.
The big issue is messaging. It means not just doing the right thing - it means convincing the world that Israel is doing the right thing.
Thailand's Army Using Israeli Military Technology in Border Conflict with Cambodia - Anna Ahronheim ( Jerusalem Post)
Thailand has increasingly relied on advanced defense systems developed in Israel to gain a tactical edge in its border conflict with Cambodia, using Israeli self-propelled artillery, reconnaissance drones, and communication platforms.
These tools provide precise targeting capabilities and real-time intelligence, allowing the Royal Thai Army to monitor Cambodian troop movements and respond swiftly to incursions.
While Cambodia's forces are outfitted with aging Soviet-era gear and Chinese-supplied armaments, Thailand's incorporation of Israeli technology enables more surgical responses, resulting in minimal collateral damage.
Thailand has been acquiring Israeli defense technology since the 1970s, and has transferred knowledge to enable local manufacture and production of certain weapons systems.
Dispatch from a Reservist in Gaza - Izzy Ezagui ( Times of Israel)
A mortar took my arm in Gaza in 2008. I live in Los Angeles, but I've spent every vacation day accrued since 10/7 in Gaza. Or the tunnels under Lebanon.
On my final mission this trip, we found a tunnel shaft in Gaza, and I was ordered to clear it. I threw a grenade. Pulled the pin with my teeth. The guys couldn't get enough of it. Like something out of a '90s action flick.
It obviously means something to them that I fly in from so far away. That I show up, one arm short and still in the fight.
They mean something to me, too. These men who risk everything. They leave behind spouses, infants, careers. Full lives. They don't complain. They don't make speeches. They just pack a bag and come.
They talk about the strain at home. Kids who won't sleep while they're gone. Wives who cry in the kitchen but stay strong on the phone.
They talk about October 7th. About the bodies. The friends they lost. The pieces they had to gather. How, sometimes, there weren't enough left to bring back. And what it takes to keep going after that.
Out here, no one needs to pretend. It's the realest place I've ever been. For a few short weeks each year, in this place, with these men - it's the only time I feel whole.
The writer, a decorated IDF squad commander, lost an arm in combat and continues to serve in a combat engineering reconnaissance reserve unit.
See also How a One-Armed American Soldier Fought His Way Back into the Israeli Army - Ben Sales ( JTA)
|
|
News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
- Trump: Iran Told Hamas to Toughen Its Positions in Gaza Ceasefire Talks - Barak Ravid
After Gaza ceasefire talks broke down last week, President Trump said Monday, "Hamas don't want to give the hostages. I told Bibi that he will have to now maybe do it in a different way." Trump suggested on Friday that Israel might have to fight harder to eliminate Hamas, but said Monday that the situation in Gaza "is a mess" and that civilians "have to get food and safety right now."
Trump said it had been very difficult to deal with Hamas and that the militant group uses the remaining 20 hostages it's holding as "protection." He said that Iran intervened in the last round of negotiations and gave Hamas "orders" to toughen its positions.
Trump added that the situation could be resolved "very quickly" if not for the hostages. "You don't want to go riding roughshod over that area because that means those hostages would be killed." He said the "most sensible" option is to address the situation through "talk and negotiations" but that it might not be possible to resolve it "unless you are very ruthless."
Regarding Iran, Trump said Sunday, "I think Iran has been very nasty with their words. They got the hell knocked out of them, and I don't think they know it. Iran was beaten up very badly, for good reason. We cannot have them have a nuclear weapon." Trump noted that Iran continues to insist it will enrich uranium on its soil under any deal. "Who would say that? How stupid can you be to say that? So we're not going to allow that to happen." (Axios)
See also Trump Says U.S. to Set Up Food Centers in Gaza - Amy B. Wang (Washington Post)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
- Hamas Benefits from the Perception of a Humanitarian Crisis
Prime Minister Netanyahu's office said Monday that Hamas has "been releasing unverified numbers to the news media while circulating images that are carefully staged or manipulated by Hamas. We are fighting a just war, a moral war, a war for our survival. No country in the world would allow the continued rule in neighboring territory of a terror group bent on its destruction that already stormed across its borders in a genocidal attack, as Hamas did on Oct. 7 when it butchered over 1,200 innocent people, burning babies alive and slaughtering teenagers at a music festival."
"We'll continue to act responsibly, as we always have, and we'll continue to seek the return of our hostages and the defeat of Hamas. That is the only way to secure peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike." (Prime Minister's Office-X)
- Global Pressure Campaign Against Israel Is Helping Hamas - Calev Ben-David
The international pressure campaign against Israel is benefiting Hamas and is the reason it has not yet agreed to a ceasefire, according to IDF Lt.-Col. (ret.) Jonathan Conricus, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
"Hamas has hardened its positions in negotiations, and its stand towards Israel and the negotiating powers, because they got a lot of support from 27 important countries in the world who signed a letter urging Israel, not Hamas, to end the war and to implement the ceasefire, as if Israel was the party not doing it. When Hamas saw that happening, they immediately translated that to: okay, we can demand more."
Hamas believes it can continue to starve Gazan civilians, fight against Israel, and hold hostages because it "has international support." "There is an orchestrated, funded and coordinated effort that Hamas is part of, but other organizations, UN organizations and others, are part of it, which is aimed at applying diplomatic pressure on Israel." (ILTV-Ynet News)
- Holland Threatens to Suspend EU Cooperation with Israel - Amichai Stein
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof warned Monday that The Hague would support suspending Israel's participation in the EU's Horizon Europe research and innovation program due to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog responded: "It will be a huge mistake if the EU takes such steps, especially in light of Israel's ongoing and upgraded humanitarian efforts." Herzog expressed deep disappointment that the fate of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas was not even mentioned in Schoof's remarks. "I am especially saddened that the plight of our hostages and the demand for their immediate release are completely ignored," he wrote.
Israel's Foreign Ministry said a recommendation to undermine Israel's participation in a component of the EU's Horizon program is mistaken, regrettable, and unjustified. "At a time when Israel is fighting Hamas's jihadist terrorism, any such decision only serves to strengthen Hamas and therefore undermines the chances of reaching a ceasefire and a framework for the release of hostages." (Jerusalem Post)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis:
The Gaza War
- Israel's Aid to Gaza Is Historically Unprecedented - Maj. (ret.) John Spencer
There is no historical precedent for a military providing the level of direct aid to an enemy population that Israel has provided to Gaza. This aid has taken place while the war is ongoing; while the enemy continues to control territory; and while that enemy is still fighting, launching attacks, and holding hostages.
Israel is delivering fuel, food, medicine, and water into territory still under the command of the very group that murdered its civilians on Oct. 7, that continues to fire rockets into Israeli towns, and that openly declares it will repeat those atrocities again and again.
In most wars throughout history, the fighting side does not provide relief to the enemy's population. In World War II, the Allies provided no aid to German or Japanese civilians while those governments were still fighting and in control of their territory. In Vietnam, the U.S. never delivered humanitarian assistance to North Vietnamese or Viet Cong-held areas.
It is easy to criticize Israel for the humanitarian costs of its war. It is much harder to hold Hamas accountable for embedding its fighters in schools, hospitals, and civilian neighborhoods. And harder still to acknowledge when a military is doing something not just legal, but extraordinary.
No military in modern history has delivered more aid to an enemy population during active war than the Israel Defense Forces have to Gaza.
The writer is chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point. (X)
- Hamas Must Relent, and Food Needs to Keep Flowing to Civilians in Gaza - Editorial
After imposing a near-total aid blockage in March, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced over the weekend a resumption of international food deliveries and a limited pause in Israel's military offensive in three Gaza areas. The stated objective of the halt to aid was to put maximum pressure on Hamas to release the remaining Israeli hostages and force the group to surrender, disarm and agree to relinquish its control over Gaza. However, only one hostage was released, as part of a U.S. direct negotiation with Hamas.
Hamas has refused to surrender while still holding sway in most of Gaza and has lately seemed to even harden its demands, rejecting the latest U.S.-backed ceasefire plan. Alas, the tactic of blocking aid probably boomeranged to Hamas's favor by leading to appalling scenes of worsening hunger in Gaza and bringing condemnation on Israel, not Hamas.
Creative solutions are needed. That includes addressing the most difficult sticking points - a future governing authority for Gaza to replace Hamas, combined with security guarantees for Israel. (Washington Post)
- A Reality Check on Gaza - Con Coughlin
One central fact seems to have been completely overlooked in the rush to blame the miserable plight of Palestinian civilians on Israel. It was Hamas, not Israel, that was ultimately responsible for the collapse of the Trump administration's latest efforts to arrange a lasting ceasefire in Gaza.
Allowing Hamas to retain any vestige of influence in Gaza is, understandably, anathema to Israel after the horrors it suffered during the Oct. 7 attacks in 2023, which resulted in the cold-blooded massacre of 1,200 people - including women and children - at the hands of deranged Islamist fanatics. No sane government in the world would allow such an organization to remain intact after the trauma its citizens have suffered.
The fundamental truth of the Gaza tragedy, one that the legions of anti-Israel protesters across the globe willfully ignore, is that Hamas does not want peace. The architects of this Islamist death cult seek martyrdom, and now that it has run out of fighters to sacrifice in its increasingly futile war against Israel's superior military might, Hamas is using Palestinian civilians effectively in its quest to survive the conflict.
(Telegraph-UK)
- The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Can Feed Starving Gazans - Johnnie Moore
All of us in the international humanitarian community are facing unprecedented challenges in Gaza.
The operating environment is among the most dangerous in the world. And none of us have been able to perfectly surmount the obstacles that come with delivering aid in a war zone.
At the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, with the help of our dedicated local partners and staff, we have distributed more than 91 million meals to civilians across Gaza. We've adjusted our systems when something isn't working. We launched a community distribution pilot program in response to overwhelming interest from organizations inside Gaza that want to help deliver, not just receive, aid. These partners have improved the safety and efficiency of deliveries.
Food aid can be delivered in Gaza, securely and at scale. It is happening right now.
If there was ever a time for unity over bureaucracy, courage over caution, pragmatism over politics, and mission over ego, it is now.
The writer is executive chairman of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
(Wall Street Journal)
See also Claims that GHF Aid Centers Have Become Death Traps Are Lies - GHF Chairman Johnnie Moore interviewed by Itamar Eichner
Q: What do you say to claims that your aid centers have become death traps?
Moore: "Lies, all lies. This is Hamas disinformation, whitewashed by friendly voices in the media and international organizations. The fact is that for the past two months, the foundation has been the only consistent source of food distribution in Gaza; 100 million meals provided to 800,000 Gazans. The entire story was fabricated by Hamas and amplified by sympathetic individuals in the mainstream press and international bodies."
"Instead of working with us to reach more people, they chose not only to boycott us but to sabotage our work. We're surviving and growing. Today we distributed more food. Despite all the challenges, this is a historic success, and you can't imagine what Gaza would look like without GHF."
Q: Is there any truth to claims that 1,000 people have been killed near your distribution centers?
Moore: "That figure is fake. Hamas uses a tactic of lumping together civilians and terrorists when reporting casualties....We are operating in an active warzone. They blame us for every death in Gaza. Not a single person has been shot inside our aid centers....What hasn't been reported officially are the hundreds killed near UN facilities or by Hamas, who then blamed it on GHF or the IDF." (Ynet News)
Iran
- The Decline of the Iranian Empire - Elliott Abrams
After a decade in which Iran's expanding power and influence seemed irreversible, they were in fact reversed by Israel - with last-minute help from American B-2 bombers.
What's left is a much weakened Hizbullah (Iran's key proxy), Syria free of Assad (a Russian and Iranian ally), and an Iran without air defenses or an advanced nuclear-weapons program.
The Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, caught Israel by surprise because its security elite thought there was a modus vivendi with the terror group: as long as it could rule Gaza, with Qatari money flowing in, Hamas was satisfied. It was viewed as bought off and no longer serious about its murderous ideology. Oct. 7 taught the Israelis to stop psychoanalyzing their enemies, to look at those enemies' capabilities, and to assume that whatever capabilities exist will eventually be used to kill Jews.
Iran's direct attack on Israel on April 13, 2024, changed the rules of the game. Since the Reagan administration, a series of presidents has tried to negotiate with Iran and avoid confrontation despite Iran's hand in killing Americans in terrorist attacks and during the Iraq War.
President Trump's bombing of Iran, as H. R. McMaster has written, "reminded officials in Tehran that they cannot antagonize their adversaries in the region with impunity - and reminded officials in Washington that Iran's theocratic dictatorship cannot be conciliated. 'De-escalation' was never a path to peace - it was an approach that perpetuated war on the Iranians' terms."
Recent events have led many states to change important calculations.
Iran and other friends of Russia and China have seen that, at least in the Middle East, those two powers are paper tigers. Everyone has seen the superiority of American to Russian military hardware. China has seen that American military power is not theoretical. The Gulf Arab states have seen that Iran is much weaker than they thought. By restoring its reputation for military and intelligence excellence, Israel has made itself an appealing partner for potential Abraham Accords participants.
The barbarians of Hamas and the mullahs in Tehran had something very different in mind when they started their major attacks on Israel in 2023, but their actions and the Israeli and American reactions have proved that the United States and its allies remain the dominant powers in the Middle East.
The writer, a senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, served as White House deputy national security advisor, where he supervised U.S. policy in the Middle East. (National Review)
Syria
- Syria's Jihadist Order Is a Global Threat - Dalia Ziada
Saudi Arabia and the U.S. are actively propping up Syria's jihadist-led government even as its armed forces carry out ethnic cleansing against minorities from the Druze and the Alawite communities. Yet the West and its allies risk legitimizing a regime ideologically aligned with the very jihadists they once vowed to destroy.
From July 13 to 20, Syria's newly revamped public security forces brutally attacked the Druze population of Suwayda, resulting in the deaths of at least 1,340 people. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 196 civilians were summarily executed by government forces, including women, children, the elderly, and even medical workers.
An American citizen, Hosam Saraya, 35, from Oklahoma, was executed alongside seven family members by government forces. A widely circulated video shows the forces grabbing Hosam from inside his family's house and then shooting him dead on camera. His crime? Being a Druze. If it were not for Israeli intervention with airstrikes that forced the government forces to withdraw from Suwayda, the number of casualties could have been far greater.
Despite his refurbished statesmanlike appearance and softened tone, Ahmed Al-Sharaa is a long-time militant with roots in al-Qaeda's ideological ecosystem and a disciple of global jihadism. Under his leadership, Syria's public security forces are an amalgamation of Salafi-jihadist militias. Many of them are foreign fighters, now masquerading as state officials. Their recent campaigns of violence against the Druze and Alawites are systematic purges meant to cleanse Syria of communities that do not conform to their radical Sunni orthodoxy.
The writer, an Egyptian scholar, is a Senior Fellow at the Jerusalem Center. (Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs)
Israeli Security
- The Intifada that Hasn't Arrived - Daniel Byman
Since Hamas's surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 Israelis, the Israeli military has assailed and occupied much of Gaza, ramped up operations in the West Bank, struck Houthi targets in Yemen, devastated Hizbullah in Lebanon, hit nuclear and military sites in Iran, and bombed parts of Syria. All these adversaries have links to terrorism. Through its proxies and on its own, Iran has attacked Israeli and Jewish targets around the world.
In these circumstances, Israel appears to be courting a new wave of terrorist attacks, maybe even a wider uprising. Yet the number of terrorist attacks within Israel since Oct. 7 has been surprisingly low. A third intifada, in which Palestinians would rise up against Israel as they did between 1987 and 1993 and between 2000 and 2005 remains a distant prospect.
That is in large part attributable to the success of Israel's campaigns against its enemies, the disarray of its foes, and its stiffened internal defenses. Israel has devastated the leadership of Hamas, Hizbullah, and now Iran. As Israeli campaigns against Hamas in the past have demonstrated, killing terrorist group leaders, especially at a rapid pace, can undermine the overall effectiveness and capacity of these outfits, making it difficult to stage operations.
Guarding against Israeli strikes also creates its own logistical problems. Leaders must avoid phones, email, and other forms of communication for fear of having their locations revealed. They must trust few people and meet with fewer. In short, they cannot perform the functions of leadership if they want to stay alive.
Fatigue and disillusionment may be setting in among the Palestinians. Polling in May indicated that 75% of West Bank Palestinians fear the war will spread into the West Bank, leading to the kind of destruction seen in Gaza. Although half of Palestinians across Gaza and the West Bank still support Hamas's decision to attack on Oct. 7, this support has fallen from 72% in December 2023. The devastation of Gaza is causing many to think twice about the costs of violence.
The writer is a professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and director of the Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. (Foreign Affairs)
Antisemitism
- Europe's Embrace of a Phantom State Is Fueling Antisemitism - Dr. Fiamma Nirenstein
French President Emmanuel Macron is leading a diplomatic charge to recognize a Palestinian state, rallying the usual bloc of Norway, Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia. 34 former Italian ambassadors have urged Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to follow suit. This isn't diplomacy. It's performance politics - an ideologically driven campaign to punish Israel - pandering to a postmodern public square that sees Jewish sovereignty as an affront.
For years, both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have rejected every reasonable peace offer. Neither faction has shown interest in democracy or coexistence. Yet their Western backers demand nothing in return - no condemnation of terror, no commitment to peace, no pretense of democratic reform. The goal is not statehood. It's to wound Israel.
Macron and his allies offer recognition not to help Palestinians build a viable future, but to appease anti-Israel sentiment disguised as virtue. They've normalized antisemitism and rebranded it as "human rights." The Italian ambassadors who demanded that Israel be punished for defending itself in Gaza are not champions of peace - they are enabling extremism.
They say the recognition of Palestine is an "urgent political priority." But there is no urgency for Palestinian reform. No questions asked about the aid stolen by Hamas. No mention of the hostages still held in Gaza. No call for condemning the Oct. 7 atrocities.
The writer, a fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, served as vice president of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the Italian Chamber of Deputies.
(JNS)
Observations:
- After Oct. 7, Israelis started reading that Israel's response to the attacks - a war that Palestinians started, and which had barely begun at the time - was actually a "genocide." In the following months, hundreds of Israeli soldiers were killed fighting house-to-house in areas where Palestinian civilians - and combatants - were warned that troops were coming so they could leave.
- Reports of impending hunger engineered by Israel in Gaza have been commonplace for at least a decade and a half.
Over the years, Israelis have been accused of fake massacres and rapes. The country's actions are lied about almost daily by people describing themselves as journalists, analysts, and representatives of the UN, often using statistics that are themselves untrue.
For people in Israel, the constant barrage of libel is simply a fact of life. After years of this, average Israelis tune it out.
- In an attempt to understand the truth of the reports of acute hunger in Gaza, I called several trusted colleagues, veteran Israeli journalists intimately involved in covering events here. The consensus was that there were nearly no trustworthy sources regarding reality in Gaza - certainly not the "Gaza Health Ministry," which answers to Hamas; or Palestinian reporters intimidated by Hamas; or international organizations embroiled in various forms of collaboration with Hamas. All are engaged in a successful information campaign that uses Palestinian suffering, real and imagined, to catalyze international anger and tie Israel's hands.
- The international press isn't the answer. During my years as a reporter and editor for the Associated Press, I saw coverage altered by Hamas threats to our staff, while this fact was concealed from readers. I know firsthand that nearly no information coming from Gaza can be taken at face value.
- One journalist who commands public trust and who speaks regularly to Palestinians they know is Ohad Hemo, the Palestinian affairs reporter for Channel 12. He reported on July 23 that food warehouses serving Hamas fighters are still full. "I don't know if people are dying directly from hunger, as is being claimed in Gaza, but there is hunger in Gaza." Even when aid makes it in, he explained, it's only fit young men who have any shot at fighting for the sacks and crates beside the trucks and food centers. The aid isn't reaching many who need it.
- You might have thought that hunger in Gaza would work against Hamas, forcing the group to have mercy on its own civilians and accept the ceasefire desired by Israel and the U.S. and currently under discussion in Qatar. But Hamas knows that the opposite is true. The disaster they've engineered in Gaza fuels the global campaign against Israel.
- One of the terrible facts of this war is that the Palestinians who started the war, and who constructed the twisted battlefield on which it has been fought, won't act to save their own people. Starvation and death serve the Hamas plan. That means that Israel must decide how far it wants to push - and when to stop.
|